Enough is hard (part 1)

We all have to make decisions about how we handle things, how we are going to think about them, and what we are going to do about them. It might be our bank account, or our lawn, or a hobby. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately and have concluded that there really are three ways we can move forward, two of them easier than the other one.

One way is to say, “This thing will get none of my time, attention, or resources.”  We make this decision all the time about things we are not natively interested in or gifted to do.  It doesn’t cost us anything to make this choice. Often it is a one-and-done deal. I’m having a hard time coming up with an example of something because it’s just not even on my radar! Maybe volleyball. Or model airplanes.

Another way is to say, “This thing will get lots of my time, attention, and resources.” These are things we are passionate about and/or are natively interested in and gifted to do. This choice doesn’t generally cost us much either. We gladly give of ourselves to this and find joy in doing it/thinking about it. This is music for me. Or reading. Or crossword puzzles. And the church. And my family.

The third way, I’m finding, is the most difficult way. This is when we say, “This thing is necessary for me to think about/do/participate in. I’m not naturally passionate about it but I can’t ignore it. However, I don’t want it to take over my time, attention, and resources so I have to come up with a middle ground that will just be enough.” This isn’t a resigned Enough, necessarily; it can be a very active Enough. For me this is my home, or my bank account, or my lawn.

But Enough is slippery, potentially illusive, hard to pin down. For starters it’s different for everyone. Not only will one person’s easy Yes/No be someone else’s Enough, but one person’s Enough might be calibrated differently than someone else’s.

It’s also tricky because the allure of an easy No or Yes is strong, even restful. Those decisions get made and you move on. My conclusions about Enough must be fought for and established in my own head. But then I encounter other people’s lives and my Enough gets pummeled, misshapen, challenged. So then I have to go back and remind myself of how I got to Enough in the first place.  And that seemingly constant regrouping necessary to maintain Enough almost makes it appear not worth it. But I think it is.

More on this to come…